Revolving waste plastic-oil converting equipment and method of using the same

ABSTRACT

A waste plastic to fuel oil distillation vessel is disclosed. The distillation vessel can be a revolving cone with many traverse supporting tubes therein. This structure allows high temperature air or gas to go through the support tubes, which pass through the vessel, to increase the heating area and increase the temperature of the distillation vessel. Also disclosed is a discharging system for discharging residue from inside of the vessel and a method of converting waste plastic or rubber into fuel oil.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation-in-part application of U.S.Ser. No. 12/211,988, filed on Sep. 17, 2008, the contents of which areexpressly incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the recycling of waste plastic andrubber and particularly relates to refining equipment and a method thatconverts waste plastic and waste rubber to fuel oil.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

With the rapid development of the plastic industry, plastic articles arebecoming increasingly important in industrial production and in ourdaily life. More waste plastics are generated with the abundantapplications of plastics. Due to the fact that the waste plastics arealmost non-decomposable in natural condition, they become a seriousproblem to the survival of our environment. As such, it becomes veryimportant to solve the pollution problem in our environment caused bythe waste plastics, and to get them recycled and re-used.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In a preferred embodiment, the present invention is directed to a vesselfor converting waste plastic or rubber into fuel oil. The reactionvessel includes a wall extending between a first and a second end.Preferably, the wall is cylindrically or cone shaped. The second end ofthe vessel can have a diameter of up to 144 inches, although largersized diameters are contemplated depending upon the needs of the user.The vessel further includes a feed-in entrance protruding through thefirst end, a residue discharge outlet protruding through the second end,and an oil or gas output tube protruding through the second end.Hereinafter, the oil or gas output tube may be interchangeably referredto as a fuel output tube. The feed-in entrance and the oil or gas outputtube can be situated on first and second support bearings, respectively.In certain aspects, a filter can be included in or at an end of the oilor gas output tube. Inside of the reaction vessel there is a shield infront of the oil or gas output tube and a helix thruster housed insideof the oil or gas output tube. Furthermore, there is a plurality ofsupporting tubes housed inside of the reaction vessel wherein thesupporting tubes protrude through the wall of the vessel and open out sothat heated air or gas can flow therethrough. A heater can be providedto facilitate the heating of the vessel and the supporting tubes. Thevessel may be housed inside of a kiln structure including a heatinsulation wall. Air or gas inside of the kiln structure is heated to atemperature of up to 800° C., thereby flowing through the supportingtubes and heating the supporting tubes and vessel.

The vessel, feed-in entrance, oil or gas output tube, supporting tubesand residue discharge outlet can be made from an alloy steel, seamlesssteel, iron, and the like.

The supporting tubes can be arranged vertically, horizontally,diagonally and combinations thereof inside of the vessel. Moreover, thesupporting tubes can have a diameter of up to 200 mm, although largersized diameters are contemplated depending upon the needs of the user.

The inside of the vessel can achieve an operating temperature of up to450° C. and the vessel can have a length of up to 24 feet. To achievethis operating temperature, the vessel and supporting tubes may beheated via hot air or gas.

The vessel can have the ability to continuously rotate, preferably aboutthe center longitudinal axis, during operation. A motor, which suppliespower and facilitates rotation of a first and a second gear, suppliesthe power to rotate the vessel. The second gear is provided on thevessel, preferably the feed-in entrance comprises the second gear,whereby rotation of the first and second gears allows rotation of thevessel.

Also, an embodiment of the present invention provides a dischargingsystem for discharging residue from the vessel. The discharging systemcan include a first residue discharging system housed inside of thevessel. The residue discharge outlet protruding through the wall of thevessel can include a flange which can be connected to and disconnectedfrom a first tube. The first tube can be connected to a second tube andthe second tube may be further be connected to a residue storage tank.

In certain embodiments, the discharging system can include a secondresidue discharging system housed inside of the second tube, and aclosed residue discharging channel can be formed between the firstresidue discharging system and the second residue discharging system.

The first residue discharging system can include a three shaft conveyorsystem including a driver shaft and a first and second driven shaftwherein each shaft can be supported by one or more sliding bearings.Moreover, the driver shaft can further include a spiral vane disposedthereon and the first and second driven shafts can each further includea residue collecting vane disposed thereon. The driver shaft or one ofthe driven shafts can extend from inside of the vessel to an inside ofthe residue discharge outlet. Furthermore, the second residuedischarging system can include a single driver shaft conveyor systemsupported by one or more bearings and have a spiral vane disposedthereon.

A preferred embodiment of the present invention also provides a methodof converting waste plastic or rubber into fuel oil. The method caninclude the steps of providing a device including a reaction vesselhaving a wall extending between a first end and a second end of thevessel, preferably a cone shaped or cylindrically shaped wall. Themethod may include the step of housing the reaction vessel inside of akiln including a heat insulation wall. The method can also include thesteps of providing a feed-in entrance protruding through the first endof the reaction vessel and situated on a first support bearing,providing a residue discharge outlet protruding through the second endof the reaction vessel and providing an oil or gas output tubeprotruding through the second end of the reaction vessel and situated ona second support bearing. The method can also include the steps ofproviding a shield housed inside of the reaction vessel in front of theoil or gas output tube, providing a helix thruster housed inside of theoil or gas output tube, providing a heater, and providing a plurality ofsupporting tubes housed inside of the reaction vessel wherein thesupporting tubes protrude through the wall of the reaction vessel andopen out.

A motor may be provided and activated whereby the motor facilitatesrotation of a first and a second gear. The second gear can be providedon the reaction vessel, preferably the feed-in entrance comprises thesecond gear, causing the reaction vessel to rotate, preferably about thecenter longitudinal axis. The method further can include the steps ofheating the vessel and supporting tubes and feeding waste plastic,rubber, a catalyst, or any combination thereof through the feed-inentrance while heating the reaction vessel and the supporting tubes. Theoutside of the supporting tubes and vessel can be heated to an operatingtemperature of up to 800° C. and the inside of the vessel can achieve anoperating temperature of up to 450° C. Heating the supporting tubes andvessel facilitates the next step of vaporizing the waste plastic orrubber to produce waste plastic or waste rubber vapor whereby duringrotation of the vessel, the waste plastic or rubber vapor flows throughthe oil or gas output tube. A further step of the method of convertingwaste plastic or rubber into fuel oil can include condensing the wasteplastic or rubber vapor in a condenser to form a condensate.Transmitting the condensate from the condenser through an oil-waterseparator to obtain an oil phase product and bringing the oil phaseproduct into a mixing tank are other steps that can be included in thepresent method. Moreover, a catalyst can be added to the mixing tank toimprove the stability of the oil phase product against oxidation. Yetanother step according to the present method can include refining theoil phase product to produce gasoline, diesel oil, and other hydrocarbonfractions.

The preferred embodiments of the invention will now be described ingreater detail with reference to the accompanying drawing figures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a side view of the revolving waste plastic-oil convertingequipment and discharging system according to an embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional top view of a reactor incorporating apreferred embodiment of the first residue discharging system of thepresent invention.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional side view of a reactor.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view along line A-A as shown in FIG. 3 or FIG. 5.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional side view of a reactor according to apreferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view along line A-A as shown in FIG. 3 or FIG. 5.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The following description concerns preferred embodiments of the wasteplastic to fuel oil converting distillation vessel. The waste plastic tofuel oil converting distillation vessel disclosed herein can beinterchangeably referred to as a vessel, reactor, distillation vessel,reaction vessel, or the like.

As shown in FIG. 1, a preferred embodiment of the present inventionincludes a reaction vessel 3. The reaction vessel 3 has a wall,preferably a cone-shaped wall or a cylindrically shaped wall, whichmakes up its body. The wall extends between a first and a second end ofthe vessel and the vessel 3 has a total length of up to 24 feet,preferably about 15-21 feet. The first and second ends of the vessel canbe configured to any suitable operating diameters although in apreferred embodiment, the diameter of the second end is in a range offrom about 72-144 inches. Furthermore, the reaction vessel 3 can be madefrom any suitable material that can handle the high temperatures thatthe vessel is exposed to, such as iron, an alloy steel, and the like.The reaction vessel 3 may also be housed inside of a kiln structure 27(shown in FIGS. 5 and 6).

FIG. 3 shows a feed-in entrance 21 protruding through the first end ofthe reaction vessel 3. The feed-in entrance 21 can be connected to anautomatic hydraulic feeder (not shown) or any other known method toperform feeding or continuous feeding of the waste plastic or rubber.Moreover, the feed-in entrance 21 can be situated on or engaged with,and supported by, a support bearing 26. At the second end of thereaction vessel 3, a residue discharge outlet 4 is shown protrudingtherethrough. The residue discharge outlet 4 can also be referred to asa curved tube. An oil or gas output tube 24 is also shown protrudingthrough the second end of the vessel 3. The oil or gas output tube 24 orfuel output tube 24 can have a helix thruster 25 and a filter (notshown) disposed therein. Also, the oil or gas output tube 24 can besituated on or engaged with, and supported by, a support bearing 26. Ashield 23 is placed inside of the vessel 3 near an entrance of the oilor gas output tube 24 to block unwanted residue from escaping throughthis tube. If the unwanted residue were to get into the oil or gasoutput tube 24, the helix thruster 25 set in the tube can push theresidue back into the vessel 3. The shield 23, feed-in entrance 21,residue discharge outlet 4, oil or gas output tube 24, helix thruster25, and support bearings 26 can be made from any suitable materials thatcan handle the operating temperatures of the vessel 3, such as iron, analloy steel, and the like.

A plurality of supporting tubes 22 are housed inside of the reactionvessel 3 wherein the supporting tubes 22 protrude through the wall ofthe reaction vessel 3 and open out. These supporting tubes 22 can bearranged horizontally, vertically, diagonally, and any combinationthereof inside of the vessel 3. The quantity of supporting tubes 22 useddepends upon the length of the reaction vessel 3 where a longer vessel 3could require more supporting tubes 22. Each end of the supporting tubes22 goes through the vessel wall and opens out so heated air or gas canbe supplied therethrough. When the vessel 3 is housed inside of a kilnstructure 27, the air or gas inside of the kiln 27 is heated and inturn, heats the vessel and flows through the open ends of the supportingtubes 22 to heat them as well. With the supporting tubes 22 goingthrough the vessel 3, the waste plastic or rubber therein is evenlyheated and the reaction vessel 3 is capable of achieving much higheroperating temperatures than a vessel 3 not including the supportingtubes 22. The supporting tubes 22 can have any suitable diameter,preferably a diameter of up to 200 mm, and be made from any materialthat can withstand the operating temperatures that the vessel 3 isexposed to such as seamless steel, an alloy steel, iron, and the like.

As a result of the placement of the supporting tubes 22 inside of thereaction vessel 3, the strength of the vessel 3 is greatly improved. Dueto the high temperatures that can be achieved inside of the vessel 3,such as 450° C., and outside of the vessel 3, such as 800° C., the shapeof the vessel 3 could easily become distorted as it does with thevessels in the prior art. However, the vessel 3 of the present inventionis not subjected to the shape distortion problems associated with theprior art reaction vessels at least because of the supporting tubes 22of the present invention. Also due to the supporting tubes 22, the firstand second ends of the vessel 3 can have a much larger diameter thanthose found in the prior art so the vessel is capable of handling thedemand of large-scale manufacturing. Moreover, the life of the vessel 3is greatly increased due to the supporting tubes 22. Finally, thesupporting tubes 22 allow the waste plastic or rubber to be heatedevenly inside of the vessel 3, which causes a complete reaction of allof the waste plastic or rubber into vapor.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the reaction vessel3 further includes a rotation mechanism. The rotation mechanism allowsthe vessel 3 to continuously rotate, preferably about the centerlongitudinal axis, during operation. The rotation mechanism can includea motor that supplies power and facilitates rotation of a first and asecond gear (not shown), whereby rotation of the first and second gearsallows rotation of the vessel 3. In a preferred embodiment, the secondgear is provided on the vessel 3, preferably the feed-in entrance 21comprises the second gear, so that rotation of the first and secondgears facilitates rotation of the reaction vessel 3. Although therotation mechanism can comprise a motor, and a first and second gear,various other rotation mechanisms can be used, such as pulleys, magnetsand the like, in accordance with the present invention as is commonlyknown by those skilled in the art.

The vessel 3 of the present invention can be used in a method ofconverting waste plastic or rubber into fuel oil. The method may includeany or all of the following steps, not necessarily in the order asdescribed. A motor is activated whereby the motor facilitates rotationof a first and a second gear, wherein the second gear is provided on thereaction vessel 3, causing the reaction vessel 3 to rotate. Wasteplastic or rubber and a catalyst are then manually or automatically fedthrough the feed-in entrance 21. The catalyst can be alumina based,silicon dioxide based, or any other catalyst useful in method ofconverting waste plastic or rubber into fuel oil. The reaction vessel 3and the supporting tubes 22 are then heated. An operating temperature ofup to 800° C., and preferably about 700° C., can be achieved outside ofthe vessel 3. Moreover, the inside of the vessel can be heated to atemperature of about 400° C. to 450° C. Such a high operatingtemperature inside of the vessel 3 is attributable to the supportingtubes 22 incorporated in the vessel 3, and a vessel not including thesesupporting tubes 22 would not be capable of achieving such hightemperatures.

The waste plastic or rubber is then transformed from a solid to a liquidstate with the increasing temperature. The liquid is then converted intoa gas or vapor phase under the action of the catalyst and the wasteplastic or rubber vapor flows through the oil or gas output tube 24 andexits the vessel 3. This vapor is then condensed into a mixture ofliquid hydrocarbons in a condenser (not shown), before which the dustimpurities carried by the vapor are separated in a settler (not shown).The condensate is then transmitted from the condenser through anoil-water separator (not shown) to obtain an oil phase product. The oilphase product is then brought into a mixing tank (not shown) and thecatalyst is added to the mixing tank to improve the stability of the oilphase product against oxidation. Finally, the oil phase product isrefined to produce gasoline, diesel oil, or other hydrocarbon fractions.

A preferred embodiment of the vessel 3 incorporating a continuousresidue discharging system will now be described. With respect to FIG.2, a high temperature, separable, continuous residue discharging systemincludes two sub-systems: a first residue discharging system and asecond residue discharging system. The first residue discharging systemis assembled in a reactor 3. The reactor 3 can be any type of reactorthat converts plastic, rubber, industrial waste or the like into oil,fuel, or the like. The first residue discharging system is a threeunilateral shaft conveyer system. However, the system may include onlyone shaft or any number of shafts depending on the diameter of theshafts and the size of the reactor that the shafts are housed inside of.In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the driver shaft 16 of the conveyorsystem extends the length of the reactor 3 and further into a residuedischarge outlet or curved tube 4 (as shown in FIG. 1). A spiral vane 17is disposed on the driver shaft 16.

The curved tube 4 includes a flange 5, which connects the curved tube 4to a first tube 10. The first tube 10 has the ability to retract fromthe connection with the curved tube 4. Also shown in FIG. 1 is the firsttube 10 as it connects to the second tube 9. In a preferred embodiment,the second tube 9 is made of steel and has a diameter of 325 mm but thistube can be made from a variety of materials known in the art andinclude a large range of diameter sizes. Furthermore, the second tube 9can be an integral, single body tube or it can comprise multiplesegments that are connected together to form a pathway. The second tube9 is further attached to a residue storage tank 20. The connection ofthe curved tube 4 by its flange 5 to the first tube 10, the first tube10 to the second tube 9, and the second tube 9 to the residue storagetank 20 forms a closed residue discharging channel.

Housed inside of the second tube 9 is a second residue dischargingsystem. As shown in FIG. 1, the second residue discharging systemincludes a single driver shaft 7 with a spiral vane 8 disposed thereon.The spiral vane 8 can be located in between a pair of bearing components(not shown), which support the single driver shaft 7 and allow it torotate smoothly. However, in other embodiments, the second residuedischarging system can include any number of shafts.

Also depicted in FIGS. 1 and 2 are the sources used to power the system.A first power source 1 delivers power, through a clutch 2, to the drivershaft 16 of the first residue discharging system. The second powersource 6 is also shown. This power source delivers power to the singledriver shaft 7 of the second residue discharging system. The powersources 1,6 can include an engine and a decelerator.

As shown in FIG. 1, a preferred embodiment of the first residuedischarging system includes a three unilateral shaft conveyor systemhoused in a reactor 3. The driver shaft 16 is shown as well as a firstdriven shaft 13 and a second driven shaft 18. The first and seconddriven shafts 13,18 include residue collecting vanes 14 disposedthereon. The driver shaft 16 includes a spiral vane 8 disposed thereon.These vanes 8,14 assist in the residue collection and conveying processby moving the residue from the reactor 3 into the curved tube 4. Theshafts 13,16,18 of the first residue discharging system are supported atboth of their ends by bearing components 12. The bearing components 12allow for smooth rotation of each shaft 13,16,18. Also shown (but notlabeled) is the curved tube 4 and the driver shaft 16 is extendingtherethrough. The driver shaft 16 includes a driver gear that is engagedwith a first gear of the first driven shaft 13 and a second gear of thesecond driven shaft 18. All of these gears are housed inside of a gearcase 11.

While the reaction vessel 3 is still at extremely high operatingtemperatures, the closed residue discharging channel can be formed aspreviously described and the residue can be discharged from the vessel3. Accordingly, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the first tube 10 isconnected to the flange 5 on the curved tube 4. The first power source 1is activated and transfers power, through the clutch 2, to the drivershaft 16. The second power source 6 is also activated and it transferspower to the single driver shaft 7. As power is transferred to theseshafts 7,16 they begin to rotate. Rotation is smooth because the shafts7,16 are supported on bearing components 12. As the driver shaft 16begins to rotate, its driver gear rotates causing the first and secondgears of the first and second driven shafts 13,18 to rotate, which inturn, causes the first and second driven shafts 13,18 to rotate. Theresidue collecting vanes 14 disposed on the first and second drivenshafts 13,18 and the spiral vane 8 disposed on the driver shaft 16collect residue from inside of the reactor 3 and as rotation of thevanes 8,14 occurs, residue is pushed or conveyed towards the curved tube4. Since the driver shaft 16 and the spiral vane 8 disposed thereonextend through the curved tube 4, the residue is pushed into the curvedtube and falls down, through the first tube 10 and into the second tube9. Once the residue falls into the second tube 9, the spiral vane 8 onthe rotating single driver shaft 7 begins to push or convey the residuetowards the residue storage tank 20. Once all of the high temperature,combustible residue has been transferred from the reactor 3 to theresidue storage tank 20, the power sources 1,6 are deactivated, theclutch 2 is disengaged which will disconnect the first power source 1and the driver shaft 16, and the first tube 10 is retracted from theflange 5.

FIG. 5 shows a preferred embodiment of the present invention wherein thereactor 3 is housed inside of a kiln 27. Under the reactor 3 and insidethe kiln 27 is a heat insulation wall 28. The heated air inside of thekiln 27 can circulate around the reactor 3 and evenly heat it. The kiln27 and heat insulation wall 28 can be made of fire brick. The heater 29is also shown in FIG. 5. The heater 29 heats the air or gas inside ofthe kiln 27 and, in turn, heats the vessel 3 and supporting tubes 22.However, in an embodiment that does not include a kiln 27, the heater 29simply heats the vessel 3 and supporting tubes 22. The heater 29 mayoperate by the combustion of a fuel, such as fuel oil or natural gas. Itshould be understood that other heaters commonly known in the art, suchas an electric heater, can be used to heat the reaction vessel andsupporting tubes.

Depicted in FIG. 6 is the reactor 3 housed inside of the kiln 27. Theheater 29 heats the air or gas inside of the kiln 27. In turn, thereactor 3, supporting tubes 22, and the heat insulation wall 28 areheated. The heated air or gas can circulate around the reactor 3 asshown by the arrows in FIG. 6 and also flow through the supporting tubes22.

From the foregoing, it is believed that one of skill in the art willreadily recognize and appreciate the novel advancement of this inventionover the prior art and will understand that while the same has beendescribed herein and associated with preferred illustrated embodimentsthereof, the same is nevertheless susceptible to variation, modificationand substitution of equivalents without departing from the spirit andscope of the invention which is intended to be unlimited by theforegoing except as may appear in the following appended claims.

1. A device for converting waste plastic or rubber into fuel oil, thedevice comprising: a vessel having a wall extending between a first endand a second end of the vessel; a feed-in entrance protruding throughthe first end of the vessel; a residue discharge outlet protrudingthrough the second end of the vessel; a fuel output tube protrudingthrough the second end of the vessel; and a plurality of supportingtubes housed inside of the vessel wherein the supporting tubes protrudethrough the wall of the vessel and open out.
 2. The device of claim 1,wherein the wall is cone shaped.
 3. The device of claim 1, furthercomprising a kiln in which the vessel is housed.
 4. The device of claim1, further comprising a rotation mechanism.
 5. The device of claim 1,further comprising a first support bearing on which the feed-in entranceis supported.
 6. The device of claim 1, wherein the supporting tubes arearranged in a manner selected from the group consisting of vertically,horizontally, diagonally, and any combination thereof.
 7. The device ofclaim 1, further comprising a shield housed inside of the vessel infront of the fuel output tube.
 8. The device of claim 1, furthercomprising a second support bearing on which the fuel output tube issupported.
 9. The device of claim 1, further comprising a heater. 10.The device of claim 1, further comprising a helix thruster housed insideof the fuel output tube.
 11. The device of claim 3, wherein air or gasinside of the kiln is heated, thereby flowing through the supportingtubes and heating the supporting tubes and vessel.
 12. The device ofclaim 1, further including a filter in the fuel output tube.
 13. Thedevice of claim 1, further comprising a discharging system housedtherein.
 14. The device of claim 13, wherein the discharging systemfurther comprises a first residue discharging system housed inside ofthe vessel; the residue discharge outlet further comprising a flangeconnectable to a first tube; the first tube being connectable to asecond tube; the second tube being further connectable to a residuestorage tank; a second residue discharging system housed inside of thesecond tube; wherein a closed residue discharging channel is formedbetween the first residue discharging system and the second residuedischarging system.
 15. The device of claim 14, wherein the firstresidue discharging system further comprises a three shaft conveyorsystem including a driver shaft and a first and second driven shaft,each shaft being supported by one or more sliding bearings.
 16. Thedevice of claim 14, wherein the second residue discharging systemcomprises a single driver shaft conveyor system supported by one or morebearings and having a spiral vane disposed thereon.
 17. A method ofconverting waste plastic or rubber into fuel oil comprising the stepsof: providing a device comprising a vessel having a wall extendingbetween a first and a second end; providing a feed-in entranceprotruding through the first end of the vessel; providing a residuedischarge outlet protruding through the second end of the vessel;providing a fuel output tube protruding through the second end of thevessel; providing a plurality of supporting tubes housed inside of thevessel wherein the supporting tubes protrude through the wall of thevessel and open out; rotating the vessel; feeding waste plastic and/orrubber and a catalyst through the feed-in entrance; heating the vesseland supporting tubes to vaporize the waste plastic and/or rubber wherebythe waste plastic and/or rubber vapor flows through the fuel outputtube; cooling the waste plastic or rubber vapor to form a condensate;transmitting the condensate from the condenser through an oil-waterseparator to obtain an oil phase product.
 18. The method of claim 17,further comprising the step of housing the vessel inside of a kiln. 19.The method of claim 17, further comprising the step of providing ashield inside of the vessel in front of the fuel output tube.
 20. Themethod of claim 17, further comprising the step of providing a helixthruster inside of the fuel output tube.